:42:02
The studio had the idea to make the film.
:42:05
They said "Would you like to direct this?"
And he would say "Sure".
:42:08
But it was a subject
that appealed to him.
:42:11
It also appealed to Cary Grant.
:42:14
The legend of masculine charisma
approached Hammer,
:42:17
wanting to make a horror film.
Under the pen name John Elder,
:42:21
producer Anthony Hinds tailored
his script to the star's romantic persona,
:42:26
only to have Grant's agent refuse
his client's wish to play against type.
:42:30
I'm the rat-catcher.
:42:32
Cary Grant could not go
and stab the rat-catcher in the eye.
:42:41
Hammer's script takes
:42:43
most of the menace
away from the Phantom.
:42:50
It shifts murders from him to other people.
:43:00
Traditional dirty tricks performed
with relish by earlier Phantoms
:43:04
were now delegated to a malevolent imp.
:43:13
Topsy-turvy,
the Phantom unmasks himself,
:43:16
and is a victim
of his character's own traditions.
:43:22
Czech-born, trained at London's Old Vic,
:43:25
Herbert Lom inherited the mask
of a kinder, gentler Phantom.
:43:30
Lom gave a masterful performance,
:43:32
blending the tortured pantomime
of Lon Chaney
:43:35
with the voice of the fallen angel
pioneered by Claude Rains.
:43:38
You're going to be a great
and famous singer. I'll help you.
:43:43
- Who are you?
- Be quiet and listen.
:43:47
You sang well, but you will sing better.
:43:50
I shall teach you.
:43:52
When you sing, it will be only for me.
:43:55
You are dining with
Ambrose d'Arcy tonight.
:43:59
Be warned, he is a vile and vicious man.